Photo by David Luttrell/Knoxville Magazine
The home of Todd Witcher and Cheryl Holcombe is an urban oasis for wildlife.
A scant few feet from where Todd Witcher and Cheryl Holcombe stand, a blue jay swoops down into a fig tree for a snack. He regards them quizzically through the branches, as though to question what they're doing in his yard, so close to his fig tree.
"Usually, I give the fig tree a run for its money," Cheryl says, referring to her bottomless appetite for the sweet, fleshy fruit. "But this year, lucky for him, this year there's enough to go around."
It's easy to see how a bird, or any animal, might get the wrong idea about whose home this really is. Todd and Cheryl's Jefferson Avenue abode is an urban oasis for wildlife. From hummingbirds to butterflies to raccoons, word has clearly gotten out that this is the place to be - thanks to the owners' emphasis on native plant gardening.
The natural world is always at the forefront of Todd's mind. After working at Ijams Nature Center for 17 years, he is currently heading up Discover Life in America, a Gatlinburg-based nonprofit organization dedicated to finding and counting life forms in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. (See "Discover Life in the Great Smokies" in the August issue of Knoxville Magazine.)
Photo by David Luttrell/Knoxville Magazine
Native plants are a nod to the environment, helping to promote biodiversity.
"Native plants are an environmentally conscious choice," explains Todd. They're well adapted to the local environment, he says, which makes them easier to grow and maintain as they require less water and fertilizer. Native plants also help promote biodiversity and assist in maintaining a healthy co-existence between plants and other life forms, namely insects and animals.
In addition to all manner of wildflowers and a manmade bog, Todd and Cheryl's vegetable garden overflows with eggplant, vining okra, string beans, sweet potatoes, kale, cauliflower and collard greens. And, Cheryl adds, lots and lots of blackberries, which went wild this summer as a result of the season's unusually abundant rainfall. "We ate more blackberry cobbler this yearÉ." Cheryl laughs.
The couple's emphasis on sustainable living carries into the house itself, which is equipped with features such as cork flooring and solar tubes. Even their choice of this house, a two-story that is 100 years young this year, was made with the environment in mind. "It didn't make sense to build a new house, using raw materials and land," Cheryl says. "We'll always live in old houses."
Photo by David Luttrell/Knoxville Magazine
The couple's appreciation for sustainable living carries into the house, which is 100 years young.
Today, after 12 years of living here, the couple's home is a unique expression of their personalities. Big windows and skylights let sunshine seep into every room ("We like a lot of light," Cheryl explains), accentuating the vibrant, earthy color scheme. "I love to paint," Cheryl says. "We joke that we are actually losing square footage because we repaint so often."
Fun, whimsical furnishings and light fixtures co-exist with antique pieces, including clawfoot tubs in the bathrooms rescued from an old bed-and-breakfast, to create an atmosphere that is fresh and modern yet respectful. Todd and Cheryl remodeled the house with an emphasis on staying as true as possible to the home's original character. The biggest change was knocking down a wall separating the kitchen and dining room which, when intact, made both rooms feel claustrophobic.
Photo by David Luttrell/Knoxville Magazine
An earthy color scheme plays naturally to some of the home's traditional pieces.
Todd and Cheryl have seen photos of the house in its youth, when Jefferson Avenue was still a dirt road and their backyard had an outhouse. They've also kept in touch with a woman whose grandparents lived here, who grew up across the street. "She was touched that the houses in this neighborhood were being saved," Cheryl says. To show her gratitude, the woman brought them a cutting from a snowball bush that belonged to her grandparents and was once planted here itself.
With more and more plants taking up residence in their backyard (which, thankfully, encompasses two lots), Todd and Cheryl fantasize about having more land to play with someday, maybe even their own farm. But there are things about Parkridge that they would miss, like its proximity to downtown. They love being a stone's throw away from the Market Square Farmers' Market, good restaurants and the movie theater.
"But the hardest part would be leaving our neighbors," Cheryl says. "We have very good neighbors - people our age who we go out to dinner with, do things with. There's a sense of community."
Photo by David Luttrell/Knoxville Magazine
In addition to vegetables, wildflowers and other plants are at home in the garden.
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Comments » 2
wldockery writes:
If it's raccoons you want . . .
Birdcrazy writes:
It's beautiful!
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